Operation Santa Is Looking For Volunteer Elves
Adopt a letter sent to Santa and make a family's Christmas brighter.
SandraMirey Photography/Getty Images
The U.S. Postal Service needs a few elves to help fulfill the wishes of families and kids who sent their Christmas lists to Santa.
Thousands of letters have flooded the USPS Operation Santa mailroom requesting toys, winter clothes, bikes, gift cards, computers, and more. You can adopt a letter on the Operation Santa website and make someone's Christmas a little brighter.
Sue Brennan, senior PR representative for USPS, told USA Today that 18,000 letters were adopted in 2022.
“This program is unlike anything else in the Postal Service—in every aspect. Employees that get involved are in awe of the program’s history and the sheer joy it brings to so many,” Brennan said. “Seeing so many thousands of people wanting to help strangers have a happier holiday is something I can’t quite explain.”
Spreading joy is what Christmas is all about, and some of the Operation Santa letters really pull on our heartstrings: kids explaining that mom or dad can't afford to buy gifts this year, or parents describing a tough year due to medical problems.
Other letters are just adorable: Addy promising to "make extra cookies" for Santa and Braxton declaring "I've been good 100 million years." And some we can all relate to: Eyland drove "mom and dad a little gray this year. But I've learned a lot and am turning things around." Good work, Eyland.
The USPS created Santa's first mailroom in 1912, then opened Operation Santa to the general public in the 1940s. Nowadays, letter writers send their lists to: Santa, 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888. Letters must be postmarked by December 11 to make Santa's list this year.
To adopt a letter, pick one at uspsoperationsanta.com by December 18. Ship your gift from a participating post office—postal workers will handle addressing the package to keep everyone's information private. Merry Christmas!
For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on Southern Living.
